This is the audio of session three from the May 4, 2019 Seeking God Prayer Event held at Michiana Christian Camp.
This third session focused on the how of seeking God with an emphasis on the whole-hearted pursuit that God desires from us. When you seek God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you can be assured that you will find Him. If you don’t really care if God is with you, you will likely not be aware of His presence.
This is the audio of session two from the May 4, 2019 Seeking God Prayer Event held at Michiana Christian Camp.
This second session focused on the where of seeking God . . . both where we seek from and where we seek at. When you realize there is nowhere that you can hide from God, the possibilities of where to seek Him begin to expand exponentially. If you’re not looking for God to be present where you are, you will likely not notice He is there.
This is the audio of session one from the May 4, 2019 Seeking God Prayer Event held at Michiana Christian Camp.
This first session focused on examining what or, more importantly, who are we seeking. The value you place on what you seek will determine how much effort you put into seeking. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you will likely not know if you find it.
This is the audio from the April 7, 2019 sermon, “Mind the GAP!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.
(I didn’t remember to turn the recorder on until after the sermon introduction, but this audio contains all three main points.)
Text: Ezekiel 22:30
“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”
Here are the main points from the sermon:
As you stand in the gap, you must pay close attention to mind the . . .
As children of God, we ought to be standing in the gap on behalf of the country we live in, our churches, and our friends and families. Not only should we “mind the gap” in our own life, we ought to be helping our brothers and sisters avoid the many temptations that lurk in these gap areas.
A friend of mine, while serving as the preaching minister in a local church, became known for consistently saying, “Today’s the best Sunday I’ve had all week!”. At first glance, it may be easy to chalk that up to it being the only Sunday in the week, but it was really a statement about attitude rather than frequency. I’ve worked in ministry long enough to be certain he wasn’t saying that everything had gone just as he had wanted during the previous week, or that the events of the day were even going fully according to his plan. No, I believe it was one tool of many which he used to remind himself and others that it was a day given by God and a day meant to be used to honor God — no matter what!
I thought about that example today as I worked through my morning routines on a Monday that is anything but routine. While we often think of Monday as the start of a new work week, it almost always has baggage from the previous week hanging around. For me, last week was filled with struggles and issues that remain unresolved but aren’t really within my ability or responsibility to resolve. Nonetheless, they weigh on me and can have a tendency to fill my mind to the point of distraction and even discouragement if I let them. With last week’s burdens still hanging over me, I woke up to fresh snow that I wasn’t expecting — meaning extra work to start the day.
But then my routine kicks in. The sidewalks are cleared, the building is cleaned and prepped for the day, and I settle in to write the prayer guide for next week. After some time with God, we settle in on a topic based on Colossians 3:2 which says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Monday mornings I typically set aside to write the prayer guide that I will publish and send out the following week. Some weeks the topic comes easily and other weeks it is a struggle to hear God clearly in regard to where the focus should be. Some weeks I’m not sure who the primary audience is that God will use it to reach and other weeks I’m pretty sure it is meant to speak directly to me before it goes out to anyone else.
The reminders I worked on this morning were priceless. Reminders to not worry, to be open to the instruction of Scripture, to allow the Spirit to fill my all of me including my mind, to be transformed by having a renewed mind, to engage my mind in prayer, and to surround myself with like-minded people who seek to honor God. Yes, it’s the best Monday I’ve had all week — not because it is the only Monday I’ll have all week, but because it came with an attitude adjustment that calls me to reset my mind on the things of Christ. Now that doesn’t mean the struggles are gone or resolved, they remain and some of them continue to grow. What changes, and what must change, is how I set my mind in the midst of things beyond my responsibility and control.
The morning made me think of the photo I put at the top of this post. It is one I took last Saturday and I would guess most people looking at it are drawn to the blue sky and bright white clouds. Yet within the same photo is a base of drab browns and grays of a sparse winter landscape. Your view of that photo is really dependent on where you set you mind, whether consciously or subconsciously. On this best Monday you’ll have all week, it is time to set your mind on things above!
In prayer,
Tom Lemler
This is the audio from the February 3, 2019 sermon, “Let GO!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.
Text: Romans 12:1-2
Here are the main points from the sermon:
To let go and truly be a living sacrifice, we must Let . . .
What are you looking at? I mean, when you’re not reading this wonderful blog, what catches your eye on a regular basis? Is there any harm, or benefit, in “just looking”? Do you even give much thought to the things you not only see but to that which you allow your thoughts to rest upon for more than a moment?
Most of the major purchases I’ve made in life began as “just looking”. Sometimes the “just looking” phase is a research time in order to find the best possible solution to something that I actually need. Many times, though, the “just looking” is more of a dreaming or longing for something that I know I don’t need but somehow it has caught my attention.
I’m not sure there is a problem with just looking . . . other than it is not possible to do over some length of time. No, the problem typically lies in what we are just looking at rather than in the fact we are looking. It seems our thoughts, and then our actions, typically follow our line of sight. So, “just looking” becomes “just thinking” which, in time, becomes “just doing”.
From Eve “just looking” and seeing the fruit forbidden by God was “good for food” to the heroes of the “hall of faith” in Hebrews 11 who were “just looking” for a kingdom whose architect was God, the Bible is filled with stories of people whose actions were determined by the direction of their gaze. Some show the pitfalls of “just looking” in the wrong direction. Eve “just looking” at what God said was off limits. Lot “just looking” at the cities of the plains which were filled with wickedness. The people of Israel “just looking” at the nations surrounding them. Each followed their “just looking” with actions which led them into sin they probably thought they would never be involved in.
Others chose to fix their gaze on things of a more noble nature. Abraham was “just looking” for a land promised by God of which he did not know. Moses found himself “just looking” at God rather than the treasures of Egypt. The Bereans were “just looking” at scripture to see if what they were being taught was from God. Each of these, and many more, turned their “just looking” into a faithful pursuit of God even when the visible wasn’t always complete.
And then there’s David. David portrays the range that most of us deal with throughout our life. There are times, such as when facing Goliath, that he is “just looking” at God and not being distracted by the enemy. And then there are other times, such as His relationship with Bathsheba, when he is “just looking” at the things of this world in a way that he shouldn’t and it leads him deeper and deeper into sin. That is why God tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” When we live a life “just looking” at Jesus and the truth found in His Word, we will find our thoughts and actions will follow our gaze and be pleasing to Him.
So, what are you “just looking” at today? Where is it leading your thoughts? How will your actions be influenced by the things you allow your eyes to settle on today? Are there things you are doing now as a result of “just looking” in the past that you wish you had never gotten involved in? How about good things that your past “just looking” has led you to? What do those experiences tell you about what you ought to fix your eyes on today?
I pray that you and I would pay close attention to the things we rest our gaze upon so that the influences of what we say and do would lead us to a life pleasing to God.
In prayer,
Tom Lemler
This is the audio from the December 30, 2018 sermon, “Hold ON!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.
Text: Revelation 3:7-13 & Luke 18:1
Here are the main points from the sermon:
We Hold ON to the right things when we hold . . .
